Honouring the frontrunners of today: BASIS Luna Shamsuddoha Award 2022

10 women and 3 companies were recently awarded the prestigious 'BASIS Luna Shamsuddoha Award' at the Grand Ballroom of Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden hotel in the capital city.

Named after the late Chairman of Dohatec New Media, Ms Luna Shamsuddoha, the first iteration of this new award aims to recognise and celebrate the hard work of successful women in various sectors of Bangladesh.

The award ceremony will be held every year from now on by BASIS (Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services) in honour of the late Ms Luna Shamsuddoha, a pioneer of Bangladesh's ICT division.

Ms Luna Shamsuddoha was also the first woman to be selected as the Chairman of Janata Bank Limited. She was the founding President of the local skill development platform Bangladesh Women in Technology (BWIT), as well as the former board member and Director of BASIS Executive Council.

For BASIS Luna Shamsuddoha Award 2022, 10 women were formally awarded in recognition of their contribution to various national and local sectors. They are:

Geeteara Safya Chowdhury, Chairman of GraphicPeople and Adcomm Limited. Geeteara Chowdhury received the 'BASIS Luna Shamsuddoha Lifetime Achievement Award' for her outstanding professional achievements and for encouraging millions of women in Bangladesh. She is a former Adviser to the caretaker government and was in charge of the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Textiles and Jute, and Ministry of Women and Children Affairs.

Zuena Aziz, Principal Coordinator (SDG Affairs), Prime Minister's Office. Zuena Aziz is a BCS (Administration) cadre officer from batch 1984. Zuena joined the public service in 1986 and performed her responsibilities diligently in different capacities at the field-level administration and the Secretariat.

Saida Muna Tasneem, Diplomat and Bangladesh High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Saida Muna Tasneem was awarded the 'Atish Dipankar Peace Gold Medal' in February 2017 for her exemplary contribution to enhancing interfaith harmony between Bangladesh and Thailand. Saida Muna Tasneem has also served as an expert in a number of National Committees on security issues.

Amena Begum, BPM, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Special Branch of Bangladesh Police. Amena Begum served as the Asian Regional Coordinator of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) from 2009 to 2015 and received the highest recognition from the police force 'Bangladesh Police Medal (BPM)' in 2015. Amena Begum is the current President of the Bangladesh Police Women Network (BPWN).

Dr Haseena Khan, Microbiologist and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka. Professor Haseena Khan is renowned for leading the genome decoding of a particular type of Ilish fish from the Padma river as well as the genetic decoding of Jute. Dr Haseena Khan received the Independence Day Award for her valuable contribution to scientific research and training.

Sonia Bashir Kabir, Founder and Managing Partner of SBK Tech Ventures and SBK Foundation. Sonia Bashir Kabir is the first female tech venture capitalist from Bangladesh and has invested in numerous tech startups in emerging South Asian markets. Sonia Bashir Kabir also served as the Managing Director of Microsoft Bangladesh and as the Country Manager of Dell Technologies Bangladesh in the past.

Dr Rawshan Arra Khanam, Consultant, Department of Respiratory Medicine, United Hospital. Dr Rawshan Arra Khanam is the Scientific Secretary of Bangladesh Society of Critical Care Medicine (BSCCM) & Executive Editor of Bangladesh Critical Care Journal (BCCJ). Dr Rawshan Arra Khanam is also a Member of the Covid Steering Committee of United Hospital and specialises in Interventional Pulmonology & Noninvasive Ventilation (NIV).

Dr Senjuti Saha, Director of Child Health Research Foundation, Bangladesh. Dr Senjuti Saha is a microbiologist and completed her PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto. Dr Senjuti Saha and her team decoded the genome sequence of SARS-CoV2 in Bangladesh in 2020.

Ms Humaira Azam, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Trust Bank Limited. Humaira Azam started her banking career as a management trainee officer in ANZ Grindlays Bank in 1990. Humaira Azam is the first-ever Chief Executive Officer of any commercial bank in the history of the country.

Ms Tamara Hasan Abed, Managing Director, BRAC Enterprise. Tamara Hasan Abed has held numerous different positions within the BRAC organisation, including Chair of the Board of Trustees of BRAC University. In 2014, Tamara Hasan Abed was awarded the 'Outstanding Women Leadership Award' by the World Women Leadership Congress.

Other than these renowned individuals, three Bangladeshi companies were awarded as well.

Genex Infosys was awarded for having the highest women employment in the BPO company category. Genex Infosys is a leading business process management (BPM) and IT services company in the country. Genex Infosys is the first publicly listed company in Bangladesh's Technology enabled Services (ITeS) sector and won 'Asia's Best Employer Brand Award 2021' under the 'Operational Excellence and Quality in the BPO Industry' category from the World HRD Congress in 2021.

BJIT was awarded for the highest women's employment in the software company category. BJIT was founded in 2001 and is one of the premier offshore development companies in Bangladesh. BJIT is a joint venture between Bangladeshi and Japanese entities and provides organisations, SMEs and startups with the necessary services to develop and optimise their business software.

Dnet was awarded for the highest women employment by male-female ratio category. Dnet is a social enterprise that brings innovative solutions to primary healthcare. Dnet pioneered innovation models using ICT for the economic development of Bangladesh to alleviate poverty and is working to bring changes in social and behavioural aspects in rural areas of the country.